Take a step back in time to Highland County, “Virginia’s Sweet Spot.” Travel scenic back roads and majestic mountain byways to the annual Highland County Maple Festival. Since 1959, visitors have been drawn to Highland County to tour real maple sugar camps for a cultural and culinary adventure! In 1999, The Library of Congress designated The Highland County Maple Festival a “Local Legacy.” In 2014, the Governor of Virginia signed a bill into law designating the festival as the “official maple festival of Virginia.” Each year, tens of thousands of visitors are drawn to this unspoiled, rural region of Virginia to celebrate the “opening” of the trees and observe the process of maple syrup-making. Sugar camp tours provide a unique and educational experience that portrays a rapidly vanishing way of American life. In 2024, there will be 10 open sugar camps with unique techniques and stories for you to explore for free. In addition to pancake and buckwheat cake meals, famous maple doughnuts and live entertainment, over 100 high-quality juried arts and crafts vendors take part in the festival each year. We’re glad to have you share the experience!

Hours: Saturdays 9 am - 5 pm and Sundays 9 am - 4 pm generally for the majority of the festival, including the Arts & Crafts/Food Vendors. Get an early start, beginning at 6 am for Mill Gap Ruritan Club maple doughnuts or 7 am for all-you-can eat pancake and buckwheat cake meals at certain locations on Saturdays and Sundays (see "Food" section below for specifics).

Fees: Almost everything at the county-wide festival has free entry! There is a $5 admission charge for entrance to the arts & crafts in the school gyms and The Highland Center (Ages 12 and under are FREE)! $5 gets you a collectible keychain that also allows entrance to daytime entertainment at The Highland Center in Monterey. Keychains are available for purchase with cash at entry to school gyms and The Highland Center upper level.

Weather: Regardless of snow or rain or cold temperatures, Highland County welcomes visitors to enjoy the festival! March weather can be unpredictable, with snow on one day and sunshine the next. Highland County's mountain elevation means the temperature is often several degrees cooler than in the surrounding areas, so layers of warm clothing are recommended. Much of the festival activities and sugar camp experiences are outdoors, so boots or comfortable shoes are highly recommended.

GPS Addresses: The festival is a COUNTY-WIDE event, with each rural town having something unique to explore. Three main areas of interest are “165 W. Main Street, Monterey," "161 Mansion House, McDowell," and "2558 Blue Grass Valley Road, Blue Grass."

Traffic Tips: Our rural mountain community has two main roads of Rt. 220 and Rt. 250. No matter which way you enter, you can experience something new! The center of Highland County is Monterey, and traffic often gets backed up and can cause long wait times. Though we feel it is worth the wait, know that you are never more than 30 minutes away from the edge of Highland in any direction from Monterey using Rt. 250 or 220, so feel free to leave Monterey, visit a new sugar camp or other attraction, and come back in. If you’re coming from McDowell to Monterey along Rt. 250, you can also take Rt. 629 (Strait Creek Road) to bypass Monterey and head toward Rt. 220 North to head to Blue Grass. Rt. 629 is a rural road, so watch speeds. We recommend viewing a map beforehand to plan your best route. We also recommend an early start to your cultural and culinary adventure! (*** Please note: Rt. 624, also known as Jack Mountain Road, is blocked off beyond Eagle’s Sugar Camp in the Doe Hill area for safety concerns).